Charter/Fractional private jet market share grows to 54.3%

By Doug Gollan, March 1, 2022

The share of flight hours by fractional and charter operators continued its decade-long climb, accounting for 54.3% of 2021 North American private jet flight hours, up from 43.7% in 2012

Part 135 and 91k operators in North America – shared jets – clocked a record 2,699,184 flight hours in 2021, a 64% increase from 2020 and 24% above 2019, according to Argus TraqPak.

Moreover, fractional and charter operators continued to gain a more significant share in the overall private aviation market.

Part 91k and 135 flights accounted for 54.3% of the industry’s 2,273,322 hours, increasing 2.3 share points year-over-year and 5.8 share points since 2019.

 

2021 Private Aviation Data and Statistics
2021’s 30 Biggest Charter/Fractional Private Jet Companies Ranked (Full Year)
25 Largest Part 135 Private Jet Charter Companies for 2021 ranked
2021’s Biggest Part 91k Fractional Private Jet Operators ranked
25 Busiest U.S. Private Jet Airports in 2021
2021 Private Jet Flights by State-by-State

It continues a 10-year trend. In 2021, shared private jets flew just 43.7% of the industry’s total hours.

It marks a shift towards floating fleets, jet cards, memberships, and fractional ownership more recently.

Charter/Fractional and Total Flight Hours (2007 – 2021)

Year Total Industry Hours Charter & Fractional Hours % Share
2007 4,717,848 2,086,487 44.2%
2008 4,278,020 1,894,910 44.3%
2009 3,531,151 1,536,486 43.5%
2010 3,764,205 1,655,876 44.0%
2011 3,776,004 1,655,788 43.9%
2012 3,800,140 1,662,474 43.7%
2013 3,812,905 1,749,005 45.9%
2014 3,923,290 1,812,002 46.2%
2015 4,030,915 1,858,952 46.1%
2016 4,183,472 1,948,354 46.6%
2017 4,415,602 2,144,685 48.6%
2018 4,446,777 2,161,369 48.6%
2019 4,506,275 2,184,958 48.5%
2020 3,155,211 1,641,516 52.0%
2021 4,972,506 2,699,184 54.3%
Source: Argus TraqPak

It also shows how the industry is getting greener.

Private jets that fly under Part 135 – charter – and 91k – fractional – are shared by multiple users. Fractional jets have as many as 16 owners. Charter jets carry hundreds of different clients.

In other words, all of the carbon outputs from materials and processes it takes to manufacture a private jet become amortized over numerous users instead of just a single owner.

While a green focus may not drive the trend, it does add that benefit.

Whether the Covid gains hold up in 2022 remains a big question. While corporate flight departments were on a slower recovery track, Part 91 activity is expected to see a strong rebound in 2022.

While Part 91 aircraft often fly less than 200 hours per year, private jets that are part of floating fleets often clock over 1,000 flight hours.

Related Articles

Visit DG Amazing Experiences

Find the perfect solution for your private aviation needs

Make the right decision

If you want a program-by-program comparison of more than 250 products from more than 50 companies covering 65 points of differentiation and over 40,000 data points.

Safety
Flexibility
Pricing
Aircraft
Stability